Posts tagged ‘driving’

Although many states have created laws restricting or banning the use of cell phones, traffic fatalities related to cell phone use still kill hundreds of people each year and leave thousands of others injured—sometimes for life. Safe Kids USA, a non-profit agency dedicated to reducing accidental childhood injury through education, has created a pledge to stop distracted driving.

When you sign the pledge, you agree to stop talking or testing while driving, as well as any other activity that would divert your attention from the road while driving. The less people who drive distracted, the less accidents will occur. And that means saving hundreds of lives and preventing thousands of injuries.

A recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute concluded that a texting driver was four times as likely to be in an accident than a driver who was talking on a cell phone. But a texting driver was 23 TIMES MORE LIKELY to be in an accident than a driver who was not using a cell phone at all. Also, a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that, in 2002, 955 deaths and a quarter of a million accidents were caused by drivers either texting or talking on cell phones while driving.

Currently, only 10 states have laws against texting while driving, although nine others are planning to enact laws in the near future. I realize it is hard to prosecute texting while driving cases until after an accident has happened. Enacting laws may help spread the news that texting while driving can be deadly.

Although it has been almost a year since California outlawed the use of handheld cell phones while driving, many drivers are flat-out ignoring the law. However, California law enforcement has not forgotten and the number of tickets given to California drivers is going up. In fact, for the month of May, law enforcement issued roughly 12,500 tickets for talking on a handheld cell phone or texting while driving.

But more than the threat of having to pay for a traffic ticket, talking on a cell phone while driving can also be a threat to your life. The National Safety Council says that talking on a cell phone while driving is extremely dangerous whether you hold it in your hand or use a hands-free or bluetooth device. In addition, Car and Driver Magazine, recently published a study showing that texting while driving impairs your reaction time as much as driving drunk.

Although police cannot accurately count the number of auto-related fatalities are related to talking or texting while driving, cell phone usage is linked to many auto accidents each year.

To avoid harming yourself, your family, or anyone else riding in your car or in another car, answer your phone once you get to your destination. Remember, your life is more important than the cell phone company’s customer service survey call.

Microsoft has just launched Beta version of its new Glympse application. Glympse allows you to share your location with anyone for a specified amount of time. For instance, this is a good way to let family members know that you are running late. It also has some safety applications for family members, like asking children or family members to “Glympse” you so they know where you are, and when you are headed home. Check out the rather cheesy video below, or go to Glympse.com for more details.

A story posted at Examiner.com examines the DUI Arrests in Colorado and quotes a Denver Post analysis that found that almost a third of DUI arrests made within the last year were offenders who had at least one previous DUI. And half of those had at least three previous DUIs. In addition, 84 had been stopped for drunk driving more than 10 times.

Colorado is not unique. There are many other states that do not change repeat DUI offenders with felonies, although there are some that do. In fact, in many states the third DUI constitutes a felony and can come with jail time.

Is the third offense the right time to intervene and charge these reckless individuals with a serious crime? In our current war on drugs, the federal and state governments like to a take a hard-nosed approach or proclaim zero tolerance for any drug user; however, alcohol is not part of that war. The first time a person is caught driving with an ounce of marijuana, the offender is immediately taken into custody and may serve jail time, but a two-time drunk driver gets to sleep it off in the county jail for a night and is sent back into the population to put our children and families at risk again.

If you live in a state that tolerates drunk driving, contact your local and state representatives and find out how you can put drunk drivers behind bars the first time they are pulled over.

Put the cell phone down! New York’s TimesUnion.com is reporting that a woman was recently arrested for texting while driving. Apparently, a 22 year-old woman was stopped at an intersection, when an officer approached her car to ask why she was stopped in the middle of a busy street instead of moving on. The woman said was texting, and the officer also found the woman was drunk.

We’ve been hearing for awhile now that texting a driving don’t mix and may impair your reactions, potentially causing accidents. Notwithstanding the fact that the woman above was drunk, you too could be fined or arrested for texting while driving, Although New York does not have a law against texting while driving, many states have recently passed such legislation or are planning on it in the near future.

Be careful when you drive, and don’t text. No only could you face legal consequences, but you could cause an accident and hurt others, potentially even loved ones who are in the car with you.

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